[Federal Register: February 24, 2003 (Volume 68, Number 36)]
[Notices]
[Page 8582-8584]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr24fe03-20]
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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Forest Service
Crooked River National Grassland Vegetation and Livestock Grazing
Management, Ochoco National Forest, Jefferson County, OR
AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.
ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an environmental impact statement.
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SUMMARY: The USDA, Forest Service will prepare an environmental impact
statement (EIS) on a Proposed Action to return the Crooked River
National Grassland (CRNG or Grassland) vegetation to its historical
range of variability and to graze domestic livestock where suitable.
This will include control of western juniper on 40,000 acres using
prescribed fire and chainsaw cutting, rehabilitate 10,000 acres of non-
native crested wheatgrass seedings, continue grazing domestic livestock
on approximately 82,000 acres, close domestic livestock grazing on
approximately 9,000 acres, and to create a forage reserve on
approximately 27,000 acres. This project is located in Jefferson County
within the Mud Springs Creek, Willow Creek, Lower Crooked River,
Crooked River, Steelhead, Whychus, Lake Billy Chinook, Lower Metolius,
and Deschutes South watersheds.
DATES: Comments concerning the scope of the analysis must be received
by March 21, 2003.
ADDRESSES: Send written comments to Robin Vora, Acting District
Manager, Crooked River National Grassland, 813 SW Highway 97, Madras,
Oregon 97741.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Glenn Adams, ID Team Leader, CRNG.
Phone: (541) 416-6440 E-mail gradams@fs.fed.us
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Grassland was created after the
homesteading era failed in the 1930's. Between 1935 and 1965 the Soil
Conservation Service rehabilitated and developed the Grassland by
seeding approximately 60,000 acres of abandoned farmland to crested
wheatgrass and beardless bluebunch wheatgrass, developing livestock
drinking water, fencing and implementing grazing allotment management
plans (AMPs). During the
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1960's the USDA Forest Service assumed the management of the CRNG.
Sagebrush steppe and western juniper woodland plant associations
primiarly characterized the historical vegetation of the Grassland.
Historically wildfire maintained the balance of these plant
associations. It is believed that approximately twenty to forty percent
of the land area of the Grassland would have had a major component of
western juniper. Today western juniper exists on approximately ninety
percent of the land area of the Grassland. The Forest Service proposes
to thin/remove western juniper on approximately 40,000 acres over a
ten-year period using prescribed fire and mechanical treatments. These
projects would be located in various locations across the entire
Grassland. The objective for these activities will be to manage the
vegetation in such a way to maintain sagebrush/bunchgrass associations
and western juniper woodlands as near their historical ranges.
There is a need to assist in the restoration of native species on
portions of the landscape that were farmed at the turn of the last
century and later seeded to introduced plant species during the period
from 1935 through 1965. Some of these sites are stagnated in early
serial stages of succession due soil compaction and topsoil loss
incurred during the homesteading era. The Forest Service proposes to
rehabilitate approximately 10,000 acres of stagnant ``old'' crested and
tall wheatgrass seeding to a mixture of shrubs, grasses, and forbs
(native species, cultivars of native species, and non-native species).
Methods used: Site preparation methods used would include brush
beaters, disking, and ripping where appropriate. Seeding will be done
using a rangeland drill and/or broadcast seeding. Prescribed fire will
be used. Both hot summer and cool winter/spring fire will be used where
appropriate.
There is a social/economic need to continue livestock grazing on
the Grassland, but there is a need to modify grazing practices because
some of the current practices discourage native grass and forb species
establishment and maintenance. The Forest Service proposes to permit
livestock grazing on approximately 84,646 acres of the Grassland for
the next ten-year planning period. Grazing will occur on eighteen
allotments. This action is to continue livestock grazing while
continuing improving trends in vegetation, watershed conditions, and
ecological stability. General grazing management changes proposed from
the present allotment management plans include the following: eliminate
the re-graze option on all but one allotment (Haystack Butte Allotment
that practices short-duration grazing successfully), add a rest pasture
to the grazing rotation on eleven allotments, and continue to graze
five allotments with versions of deferred grazing. In addition,
although this action proposes to retain existing permitted livestock
number as the upper limit, actual use will be a function of meeting or
exceeding standards. No guarantees are made as to length of season of
livestock use. Animal Units harvested is a function of maintaining
standards, non pre-planned calendar dates of use or permitted numbers.
There is a need to close livestock grazing on three allotments (the
Peninsula, Clevenger and Goldmine/Falls Allotments) for the following
reasons, among others: downward ecological trends, these allotments
have been vacant for the past two to ten years, would require extensive
fencing and water developments to be used, and are small in size and
would support small numbers of livestock for only a short period of
time. The Allotments have been vacant for approximately ten years.
There is a need to create grazing management flexibility by making
additional forage available to encourage and/or facilitate vegetation
rehabilitation elsewhere. A Forage Reserve created from the Canadian
Bench and the Lower Desert Allotments would provide temporary relief
for permittees as rehab projects take place on their permitted
allotment. It is proposed to create two Forage Reserve Allotments on
approximately 27,742 acres of the Canadian Bench and Lower Desert
Allotments during the next ten-year planning period.
The preliminary issues that have been identified include: watershed
restoration, grazing allotment management, noxious weed treatments,
wildlife habitat, and reintroduction of prescribed fire. Alternatives
to the Proposed Action will be developed to address significant issues,
and will include, at a minimum, a no-action alternative.
Initial scoping began in February 2003. The Forest Service is
seeking information, comments, and assistance from other agencies,
organizations, Indian Tribes, and individuals who may be interested in
or affected by the Proposed Action. This input will be used in
preparation of the draft EIS. Your comments are appreciated throughout
the analysis process.
Comments received in response to this notice, including names and
addresses of those who comment, will be considered part of the public
record on this Proposed Action and will be available for public
inspection. Comments submitted anonymously will be accepted and
considered; however, those who submit anonymous comments will not have
standing to appeal the subsequent decision under 36 CFR part 215.
Additionally, pursuant to 7 CFR 1.27(d), any person may request the
agency to withhold a submission from the public record by showing how
the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) permits such confidentiality.
Persons requesting such confidentiality should be aware that under the
FOIA, confidentiality may be granted in only very limited
circumstances, such as to protect trade secrets. The Forest Service
will inform the requester of the agency's decision regarding the
request for confidentiality, and where the request is denied, the
agency will return the submission and notify the requester that the
comments may be resubmitted with or without name and address within a
specified number of days.
The draft EIS is to be filed with the Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) and to be available for public review by October 2003. At
that time, copies of the draft EIS will be distributed to interested
and affected agencies, organizations, Indian Tribes, and members of the
public for their review and comment. The EPA will publish a Notice of
Availability of the draft EIS in the Federal Register. The comment
period on the draft EIS will be 45 days from the date the EPA notice
appears in the Federal Register. It is important that those interested
in this project participate at that time.
The Forest Service believes, at this early stage, it is important
to give reviewers notice of several court rulings related to public
participation in the environmental review process. First, reviewers of
draft EIS must structure their participation in the environmental
review of the proposal so that it is meaningful and alerts an agency to
the reviewer's position and contentions. Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power
Corp. v. NRDC, 435 U.S. 519,553 (1978). Also, environmental objections
that could be raised at the draft EIS stage but are not raised until
after completion of the final EIS may be waived or dismissed by the
courts. City of Angoon v. Hodel, 803 F.2d 1016, 1022 (9th Cir, 1986)
and Wisconsin Heritages, Inc. v. Harris, 490 F. Supp. 1334, 1338 (F.D.
Wis. 1980). Because of these court rulings, it is very important that
those interested in this Proposed Action participate by the close of
the 45-day comment period so that substantive comments and objections
are made available to the Forest Service
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at a time when it can meaningfully consider them and respond to them in
the final EIS.
To assist the Forest Service in identifying and considering issues
and concerns on the Proposed Action, comments on the draft EIS should
be as specific as possible. It is also helpful if comments refer to
specific pages or chapters of the draft EIS. Comments may also address
the adequacy of the draft EIS or the merits of the alternatives
formulated and discussed in the statement. Reviewers may wish to refer
to the Council on Environmental Quality Regulations for implementing
the procedural provisions of the National Environmental Policy Act at
40 CFR 1503.3 in addressing these points.
The final EIS is scheduled to be available by February 2004. In the
final EIS, the Forest Service is required to respond to substantive
comments received during the comment period for the draft EIS. The
Responsible Official is Ochoco National Forest Supervisor, Larry
Timchak. He will decide which, if any, of the alternatives will be
implemented. His decision and rationale for the decision regarding
vegetation management & livestock grazing actions will be documented in
the Record of Decision, which will be subject to Forest Service Appeal
Regulations (36 CFR part 215).
Dated: February 11, 2003.
Larry Timchak,
Forest Supervisor.
[FR Doc. 03-4240 Filed 2-21-03; 8:45 am]
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